Why St. Francis of Assisi sought to be nothing

I recently watched a short video by Eckhart Tolle. He talked about how St. Francis of Assisi sought to be nothing. This is actually very profound. It is the exact opposite of our ego. In our ego we want to be special.

The ego is driven by the automatic avoidance of a childhood hurt. This hurt is the suppressed emotion of feeling worthless, not good enough, not worth loving, a failure, or some other form of feeling not okay. It’s not the truth. It’s just a hurt, but it’s a hurt that runs our lives. In a subconscious attempt to avoid this hurt, we do everything we can to be the opposite, to be some form of “special.”

The automatic avoidance of this hurt creates a state of fear, upset and tunnel vision. It destroys our ability to see clearly and forces destructive behavior. If you could heal this hurt and get rid of the ego, there would be nothing left but love. In this energy of love, you experience a profound state of oneness. You radiate a very positive energy and great things happen around you. You also tap into a power much greater than you. This is what St. Francis experienced in his desire to be nothing.

He didn’t desire to have nothing. He desired to be nothing. There is a huge difference. Seeking to be nothing dissolves the ego. Like letting go, it is a state of mind and is totally separate from your actions. It certainly doesn’t mean do nothing. Do great things, but seek to be nothing. In the absence of ego, St. Francis entered the realm of love, joy, peace, happiness and miracles. I want this too. I want to be nothing and I want to do great things.

To learn more about how to find and heal the hurt that fuels the ego and gets us in trouble, read The childhood hurt that sabotages our lives.

To see the video of Eckhart Tolle, go to http://www.eckharttolletv.com/free/#/609258621/Current-Issue-Preview—The-Spirituality-of-St.-Francis.